I bought the shirt with the Bat-signal on it. I bought the soundtrack with a bunch of subpar Prince (you know, back when he was Prince and not some unpronouncable symbol) tunes on it. I bought into the whole Batman phenomenon.

It was the first movie I ever remember being really excited about seeing, and the first movie where I didn't mind standing in line for however long it was. It was good.

It set the standard for all the comic book movies that would follow it, though none would ever be as successful (or as good). It let people see Michael Keaton as a superhero and Jack Nicholson as a villainous clown, also setting a standard for brooding heroes and over the top villains.

It was good. It made a ton of cash and sparked a flood of merchandising. It was good.

And it was all downhill from there.

Batman Returns would be far darker, Batman Forever would be far blander, and Batman & Robin would be far suckier.

But the first Batman...

I watch it whenever it's on cable, I rent it on occasion. It's how comic-based movies should be: Accessible to everyone without alienating the core comic book reading following. Action, adventure, a hint of romance (Kim Basinger was a hottie then) and a sly wit.